New to the board and was hoping you could offer some advice. Up until this year I fished Salmon with a 9' 8wt Sage RPL that I build on a blem blank. When Salmon fishing I am usually alone (separated from my fishing partners) and therefore must "tail" my own fish to land them. This results in nearly a "U" shaped bend in the rod - which the Sage has stood up to fine for the past 10 years.

This year, due to increased hassles with air travel, I decided to try two multi piece rods - a St. Croix SCIV 9'-9" 8wt 3-piece and a Redington Wayfarer 9' 8wt 7-piece. I broke BOTH rods tailing fish the very first day of my trip! Both rods snapped in the butt section, and while both were replaced under warranty I have lost confidence in their ability to perform the required tasks and will therefore be selling both.

I am looking for recommendations for multi-piece 8/9 wt rods that can take the strain of bringing a large fish in close enough to tail it. Any suggestions you may have would be greatly appreciated.